Monday, May 20, 2013

warming winter miso broth aka "ghetto soup"

When I first moved out of home, as a wee little tacker, I had no idea how to cook. You see, my mother never trusted me to not burn the house down, so I was unofficially banned from the kitchen up until I had my own to mess about in.

And whilst I'm yet to blow anything up or incinerate it to the ground, I've definitely had my fair share of kitchen disasters...but that is another story for a different blog - right now I want to talk about a longstanding success story - my "ghetto soup".

Ghetto soup was the go to dish for myself and my sharehousing friends in the early part of this decade. Whether hungover, broke or hunched over the computer speeding through an assignment with little time to spare, this soup ticked all boxes - quick, cheap, easy. Granted, we used to make it with mi goreng noodles, scrappy (usually dumpstered) vegetables and something containing MSG, I've given it a bit (lot) of a makeover, and may I present my results?

Still quick, cheap and easy this soup is now nourishing, healthy and filling. I like it as a light afternoon lunch after a brisk walk in the fresh air, preferably consumed in front of a heat source - the ginger, garlic and chilli amassed will surely warm you from within as well.

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil on medium heat and sautee the onion. After five minutes, at which point the onion should be nicely browned, add the litre of water.

This is where it gets really easy - when the water reaches boiling point, turn the heat down. All together add the mushroms, garlic, ginger and chilli, sesame oil and tamari. Turn down to a low heat, and after a couple of minutes add the noodles. Wait two more minutes and add the broccoli and bok choy. After a minute (you want your veggies to be still crisp and the brightest green in colour) turn off the heat completely and stir in the miso paste until it has been combined.

Leave to sit whilst you cook your tempeh in coconut oil, a small frypan will do the trick.

Use tongs and a ladle to arrange in a bowl, top with tempeh and a squirt of Sriracha if more heat is required.

Enjoy!

You can add most any other vegetables to this dish as well - I've ladled the soup onto a mixture of raw, grated carrot and zucchini, which was a great move!